Casselberry city commissioners are set to vote Monday on whether to let residents keep backyard chickens for the first time, a decision that would launch a one-year pilot program built around limited permits rather than a permanent change to city law. The meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at Casselberry City Hall, and the outcome will determine whether hens can legally live in the city’s backyards going forward.
The vote caps a monthslong push that began after code enforcement officers spotted resident Lindsay Feist’s four backyard hens from an adjacent road and warned her she could face fines, according to WKMG. Feist said her 15-year-old son became emotional when code enforcement posted a 10-day removal notice on their front door, per the station’s report. She responded by appealing directly to city leaders for clear rules around keeping hens rather than an outright ban.
Feist also launched a Change.org petition titled “Legalize backyard hens in Casselberry, Florida,” which gathered more than 750 signatures from area residents before commissioners’ initial discussions got underway, according to Change.org. That petition asked the city to allow up to four hens per single-family detached household while banning roosters and other fowl. The grassroots effort helped push the issue onto the commission’s agenda within weeks.
How the Pilot Program Would Work
On June 8, the Casselberry City Commission voted unanimously to direct staff to draft a backyard chicken pilot ordinance while freezing code enforcement action against residents already keeping hens, the petition update noted. The city manager pointed out that backyard hens had previously been banned entirely under municipal code, meaning Feist’s flock — and others like it — existed in a legal gray area for weeks while the pause was in effect…